Chapter 1: Hunter and Prey
“Excuse me, beautiful miss, may I invite you to share a drink?”
The greasy scent of perfume mixed with the smell of alcohol rushed toward Meifilis, causing her to furrow her brow and cast a sidelong glance at the source of the voice.
A young man with his collar unbuttoned to the third button leaned in, pretending to be elegant.
The gold ring on his finger shone brightly under the light, but the greed in his eyes was even more nauseating than the ring itself.
Meifilis sighed, then squeezed out a single word between her teeth:
“Go away!”
The young man was about to retort but happened to catch sight of the ring on Meifilis’s finger, reflecting golden light, causing him to freeze.
The motif of the gorse flower…
Only members of the Vislington family have the right to wear such a ring in this city…
“Are you not going to leave?”
Upon hearing this again, the young man fled in a panic.
His family was just a small country baron; he couldn’t afford to provoke the viscount of Gran City.
This was already the seventh fool tonight to retreat in front of Meifilis.
But in truth, Meifilis did not dislike being approached by men; it was mainly about choice—
Meifilis casually swirled her wine glass while her gaze was predatorily locked onto a figure at the other end of the tavern.
For instance, the server named Reid, who was navigating back and forth at the bar with a tray.
Reid had dark hair, a rarity in Gran City and even the entire Victoria Kingdom.
His sweat-dampened shirt clung to his slender torso, accentuating his cheetah-like lines with each movement.
But from Reid’s delicate yet slightly youthful face, Meifilis could tell that he was still quite inexperienced.
Watching the chiselled collarbone that was subtly visible as Reid approached, Meifilis couldn’t help but swallow.
“Here’s your ‘Old Dream’, enjoy.”
Reid placed a glass from the tray, along with the amber liquid, in front of Meifilis.
“Wait,” Meifilis suddenly grasped his wrist, her ring glinting fiercely under the light, “Join me for a drink.”
“Sorry, miss, I can’t drink while on duty.”
Reid’s smile cast small shadows under his lashes, resembling an angel naive to the world.
“I’ll pay.” Meifilis emphasized.
“As you wish.”
Reid promptly sat down, so quickly that it made Meifilis’s heart skip a beat.
Meifilis was momentarily stunned; she had thought Reid would feign modesty and decline but instead, he was so direct.
Ah, men are ultimately the same.
Just as men enjoy admiring women’s legs, women may see hands as a second gender for men.
Gazing at Reid’s long, slender hands radiating the scent of sunshine as he flipped through the drink menu, Meifilis couldn’t help but wonder—
What kind of scene would it be if such a young man were tamed in her palm?
But Meifilis had not reveled in her thoughts for too long when she heard Reid’s clear voice address the bartender:
“One glass of ‘Black Ace’, charge it to this lady’s account.”
Meifilis’s fingertips trembled as the ice cubes in her glass clinked lightly.
Black Ace?
Of course, Meifilis knew that Black Ace was the most expensive drink in this Afterlife Tavern.
And since Reid was a server, he would receive a significant commission for the drinks ordered by customers.
This one glass of Black Ace was worth a full two gold coins, specifically targeted not to scam the poor.
That was a whopping two gold coins!
Two gold coins!
Meifilis struggled to maintain her noble poise while internally whipping this cunning little server on the torture rack eight hundred times.
But that was all she could do—think.
Using the title of Vislington’s family member to scare people was fine, but causing trouble was absolutely out of the question.
In the end, Meifilis was merely a collateral member of the Vislington family, and with the recent unrest in Gran City, her elders had strictly ordered her to behave.
What? You wonder why she could come to the bar despite being under house arrest?
If Meifilis had been the kind to obediently follow orders, she wouldn’t be known as “the Nightingale of Gran City.”
Yet two gold coins were indeed nearly the limit of her personal funds.
Well, it was already spent.
Although she was at a loss with Reid’s trickery, the slight smile at the corner of Meifilis’s mouth did not fade.
Meifilis had a backup plan.
Alcohol can blur one’s judgment; as long as she took advantage of Reid being slightly tipsy, she could use that drunken excuse to get close…
In Gran City, no man could resist falling.
But Reid wouldn’t give her that chance.
Because what lay before Meifilis wasn’t a finished mixed drink; she stared wide-eyed as Reid poured an array of dazzling ingredients into the shaker.
This was the special concoction Reid prepared just for her.
The shaker traced shimmering silver-blue arcs in the air as Reid tilted it, and Meifilis saw a drop of liquid moonlight fall into the glass—an extract of Star Lily—
A legendary drug that can help one dream of souls departed, yet he was carelessly sprinkling it as if it were pepper.
The liquid pouring from the shaker shimmered with a strange rainbow hue, its vividness like poison but exuding the fresh scent of oak after rain.
Meifilis found herself entranced.
It wasn’t until the icy glass was pushed toward her that she snapped back to her senses, realizing she resembled a hypnotized prey.
Reid’s voice swept past her ear like a feather: “I’ve added some Star Lily; wish you sweet dreams tonight.”
Reid was right; Star Lily indeed had some sleep-inducing effects, but—
I’m here at the bar to indulge, and you want me to care about my wellbeing?
“Hey, wait—!”
Meifilis suddenly looked up, only to find the place empty.
Her fingers gripping the glass turned white, and the precious liquid splashed onto her hand in a fierce tremor.
She had been tricked.
This realization felt like a harsh slap across Meifilis’s face.
She, the illustrious “Nightingale of Vislington,” had been played by a lowly server?!
Meifilis was furious.
In a fit of anger, she lifted the glass and downed the Black Ace worth two gold coins in one gulp.
The amber liquid slid down her throat like a handful of fine shards, leaving her throat painfully scratched.
Damn, this drink…
Surprisingly, it was actually quite good.
Reid’s cocktail-making skills were impeccable; the liquid was rich and complex, layered beautifully, even better than the famous wines she had enjoyed in the duke’s mansion.
But the more she realized this, the angrier she became.
She spent two gold coins but had never even grazed the edge of his clothing!
Meifilis blinked, realizing that her eyelashes felt suddenly heavy, as if they were soaked in mercury.
Although Meifilis prided herself on her drinking tolerance,—
Could this drink really be so intoxicating?
No, something’s wrong… this drink is problematic.
Meifilis’s pupils suddenly contracted, but it was already too late.
An eerie, pale purple mist began to seep from the edges of her vision, and Reid’s figure split into three in the haze, each corner of his mouth carrying an elusive smile.
She tightened her grip on the glass, only to hear a distant, almost subterranean laugh coming from the cup.
Meifilis suddenly realized she had made an irreparable mistake.
She had been fooled.
Perhaps the moment Reid’s fingers brushed over the words “Black Ace” on the drink menu, her defeat became inevitable.
From the very beginning, Reid had never regarded her seriously.
His gaze did nothing more than politely rest at her eye level, as if her luxurious dress and bare shoulders were just air.
His eyes were too clear, so clear that they seemed cold.
Even amidst a gathering of Gran City’s elite at a grand ball, Meifilis was always the focus of everyone’s attention.
But Reid?
Reid examined her like he was checking a shelf of wine labels, as if she, Meifilis Vislington, were no different than a bottle of aged rum.
She had never been so thoroughly ignored.
“Reid…”
Before her consciousness plunged into darkness, Meifilis forced out a hoarse growl from deep in her throat:
“I will… make you… pay…!”
